Russia Opens First Casino in Designated Gambling Zone
Posted by Comb Over-Under on 2nd February 2010

russian_casino“Hey Petr, Vlad and Yuri! Get your chips, we’re going to the casino!”

You may remember that in the summer, July 1, 2009, all gaming halls in the world’s biggest country were shut – putting about 1/3Million people out of work, and sending millions more to online casinos and poker rooms. Thanks, by the way, to the Kremlin for that one.

The state designated a few ‘gambling zones’ in remote areas of the country with minimal infrastructure, power, water, people, chips, dealers, etc. One of the zones is in that elusive sweet-spot that shares a border with North Korea… Nice.

Here are the official zones for legal brick and mortar gambling in Russia:

Azov City
the Kaliningrad exclave on the Baltic Sea
the Altai region of Siberia
the Primorsky region of Russia’s Far East

This weekend, however, the Oracle Casino (60 miles from Rostov-on-Don – the closest city center) opened its doors, 10 table games and 200 slots. Approximately 100 gamblers showed up along with ~400 spectators. It might not be the pride of Azov City, but it’s a start.

With plans to open a luxury hotel in the summer, the Oracle will probably grow steadily. And as we know from Las Vegas, you don’t need to have the most hospitible climate to get people to show up.

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World Series of Poker’s Last Year at the Rio?
Posted by Ray Finkle on 2nd February 2010

Vista_and_HamburglarIn a town built on losers, it seems even Las Vegas locals can’t hide from the recession. After accumulating $870 million in debt in the midst of economic turmoil, Planet Hollywood (PH) has been acquired by Harrah’s Entertainment, a ball in motion since they bought off some of PH’s arrears after defaulting on loans last September.

Harrah’s is no stranger to debt in these hard times, being approved for a $17.7 billion private equity buyout in 2008. The purchase of Planet Hollywood is Harrah’s attempts at a foot in the right direction, buying property unloaded by the downswing while staking their claim on the southern most end of The Strip.

The following was sent via e-mail from Harrah’s CEO Gary Loveman to Harrah’s employees:

“The Planet Hollywood resort is currently in default to its lenders. As a result of our purchase of their debt, we are working on a plan that also would allow Harrah’s to own and manage the property. This is an attractive proposition because of Planet Hollywood’s proximity to our other resorts on the Strip, its high-quality product offering and its strong brand name.”

Fresh out of the rumor mill, it has been alleged that after 2010’s World Series of Poker, the events are being moved from the Harrah’s owned Rio to PH. While it has all been speculation up to this point, sources close to the matter are suggesting that the move is an attempt to revitalize the Planet Hollywood brand while promoting vacancies at the Planet Hollywood condos that recently opened.

So to be clear, Harrah’s now owns:

·         PH
·         Paris
·         Bally’s
·         Rio
·         Flamingo
·         Imperial Palace
·         Harrah’s

Boys and girls, your word for the day is mo⋅nop⋅o⋅ly, noun. A monopoly is the exclusive control of a commodity or service in a particular market, or a control that makes possible the manipulation of prices. All Harrah’s needs now are the title deeds to Park Place and Boardwalk and you won’t be able to move your thimble on The Strip without stepping on their properties.

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Aussie Wins Millions in Aussie Millions
Posted by Comb Over-Under on 1st February 2010

Picture 1That headline makes sense, right?

Tyron Krost, a Bondi, Australia resident, took down the Main Event of the Aussie Millions after a week of intensely played poker.

Krost is 23 years old and beat a field of 746 players en route to the $2Million AUD victory Down Under. He qualified for the event through online satellites (that could be you!) and spent about $700 in the process – by my math, that’s a pretty solid investment.

That was Krost’s first major tournament victory; he previously cashed in two events at the 2008 WSOP. This showing at the Crown Casino was certainly the highlight of his growing career.

Tyron likened the win to a dream that he didn’t want to wake up from. He went on to say that he’s more interested in poker than the family furniture business… I think that’s a no brainer.

Krost’s play turned dominant in the final day of competition as he knocked out 5 players, including second place Frederik Jensen.

Aussie Million Main Event Final Table Results:

1st: Tyron Krost – $2,000,000
2nd: Frederik Jensen – $1,100,000
3rd: Sorel Mizzi – $715,000
4th: Kosta Varoxis – $450,000
5th: Peter Jetten – $350,000
6th: Steve Friedlander – $250,000
7th: Annette Obrestad – $175,000
8th: Stephen Shelly – $125,000

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Day 3 With Carbon Poker Players at the Aussie Millions
Posted by Comb Over-Under on 29th January 2010

aussie-millions-logoAnother report from Shane down at the Aussie Millions with CarbonPoker Players

Day 3 opened with only one Carbon Poker survivor, Elliot “ilikebiggirls” Smith. Elliot had run riot over day one almost recklessly attacking every table he sat down at, while day two saw Elliot switching gears with other aggressors at his table he had to chose his spots more carefully come day  3 he needed a little of both.

He started the day chipping up hard, possibly the biggest pot came from a fantastic read. With a 6KT85 boards featuring 3 hearts Elliot bet out onto to have his opponent make it another 150k to play. Elliot gave him his patented stare looking for a read and got it when his opponent got up from the table to avoid the stare, embarrassingly being told by the dealer to take his seat. Elliot made the call and his QT of hearts was good for a queen high flush and the pot, his opponent showing 78 of spades.

His early aggression along saw a couple of bustouts which led to his table breaking, his new assignment was both a dream and a nightmare. Two places to his right… 2007 Aussie Millions champion Gus Hansen. On his left… poker legend Barry Greenstin and the best female player left the field Annette Obrestad. Talk about being caught between a rock and a hard place! After staying quiet for a few orbits Elliot found his groove. Looking at a huge Gus Hansen raise from the button he asks Gus for a count of his stack and goes deep into the tank, even deeper than usual. Elliot reraises and finds a Gus fold, I guess he read Gus’s book showing every hand of his 2007 win!

The next big hand of his tournament saw him take down not just the pot but a sweet souvenir. Barry Greenstein finally made his last shove holding KQ all diamonds and was called down by Elliots AQ all hearts, Elliots hand held up and to go along with the chips and of course the thrill off knocking out a legend of poker he got an personalised autographed copy of Barry’s book with a description of the hand inscribed. Now there is a souvenir you can’t buy in the shops!

While watching this table a Russian media group interviewed Gus and gave him a Russian doll as a gift, Gus looked like a kid at Christmas pulling apart the doll at the table.

At the dinner break its down to 36 remaining players and play moves up to the TV studio, a redraw of the tables see’s Elliot very happy to be getting away from the established pro’s with a table of unknowns. Unfortunately the  fish feeding frenzy he was looking for didn’t eventuate and throughout the evening he started to bleed chips. Late in the night he did catch one break  when he doubled through the then chip leader with his KQ offsuit making a higher pair than his opponents pocket 8′s sending Elliot to day 4 with 410,000 chips.

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Poker Pro Baldwin donates $200k to Old Baseball Team
Posted by CarbonPoker on 29th January 2010

eric baldwinSome successful poker players like to re-invest winnings back into their bankroll, some like to gamble with winnings, some like to party, and a few will save up their money.  But rarely do players – or anyone for that matter – donate a large portion of their money towards a charitable cause.

But that’s exactly what noted poker pro Eric Baldwin decided to do when he donated $200,000 to his old baseball team at University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.  The $200k that Baldwin donated will go towards renovating Prucha Field and adding new stadium lights to ensure that UW-Whitewater is able to host the NCAA Division III Midwest Regionals.

And while the donation might seem extremely large, the amount of money is an afterthought to Baldwin who feels that UW-Whitewater’s baseball program fueled his poker success.  Baldwin said, “I wouldn’t have had nearly the success I’ve had in poker if it weren’t for the Whitewater baseball program.  The program has taught me so much in terms of hard work and preparation, and how it can pay off for you.”

Eric Baldwin was a right fielder and team captain of the 2005 UW-Whitewater team that won the 2005 NCAA Division III Championship.  Baldwin’s senior year saw him carry a .356 batting average along with 13 homers and 70 RBI’s.  Not long after his baseball career ended, Baldwin decided to move to Las Vegas and pursue poker professionally.

The move definitely paid off as Baldwin was named the Card Player Magazine Player of the Year in 2009 after winning 4 major tournaments.  Baldwin’s biggest wins came in a WSOP $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em event and the Doyle Brunson Five Diamond Classic.  The two victories combined to earn Baldwin over $750k, which comprised over half of Eric’s $1.5 million in 2009 tournament winnings.  During his four-year poker career, Baldwin has earned over $3 million.

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Gilbert Arenas Essentially Loses $7Million on a Hand of Poker – Maybe More
Posted by Comb Over-Under on 28th January 2010

gilbertarenas gun handsPew! Pew!

Washington Wizards star Gilbert Arenas is drawing blanks after the league flop-slapped him with a season-long suspension following his earlier firearm indiscretions.

Agent Zero is set to lose $7Million in cash after pleading guilty to a felony weapons charge on Jan 15. Arenas was reportedly involved in a $25K argument with Jarvaris Crittendon over a poker debt (ed: I would love to see an NBA plane. I imagine them as a 1970s party). This lead to a Texas-Hold’em-Mexican-standoff, where Crittendon and Arenas waved guns around in a Wizards’ facility. Surprisingly, The Association looks down on team-based gunplay, and I’m sure this falls in line with Stern’s anti thug appearance movement.

Both players are out for the year, and this altercation puts Arenas’ (ridiculous) $111Million contract in jeopardy.

Losses like this on a poker game even make Isildur1′s crazy swings look reasonable.

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More Aussie Millions Updates – Carbon Poker Players Day 2
Posted by Comb Over-Under on 28th January 2010

Here we go with some more updates from correspondent, Shane, in Australia for the Aussie Millions.

Day 1 is often about survival, just looking for the satisfaction of getting through the early stages of a major tournament. Day 2 is a very different beast, not those that are left are all looking to make some moves and get ahead. Day 2 of the Aussie Millions saw 4 of the 7 Carbon Poker qualifiers at the felt looking for glory.

Jonatan “FATSTAKK” Soderstrom

Unfortunately for FATSTAKK the new day didn’t bring any new action. While he at least did finally get a new table the situation for him was much the same. Another move saw him get some time at the TV table under the bright lights but sadly that didn’t help either. Not a single premium hand for two days saw his stack slowly grind down, eventually he was forced to get it all-in with AT. He got a call and his opponent flipped up AK to have him dominated, a position which changed quickly when he flopped a ten to take the lead. Things again changed quickly when a king came down on the river and the reddest Swede I have ever seen was sent to the rail.

bigdoggyRob “bigdoggy1234″ Ludlow

The little big dog with the big heart kept hanging around on day 2. He played some shortstack poker over these two days that Barry Greenstein would have been proud of. bigdoggy had struggled to get calls for most of day one, begging and pleading for a double up, day 2 was much of the same every time he fired at a pot his opponent got out of the way. After taking one such hand with a shove at the flop he fired out a preflop raise, only this time his opponent fired back and pushed all-in over the top of him. bigdoggy went deep into the tank for few minutes before turning his cap backwards and shoving all his chips in. Bigdoggy showed AQ vs his opponents  77 and we were off to the races. Clearly a greyhound bigdoggy took the early lead catching two aces on the flop, streaking off to the win with blanks on the turn and river. He finally gets his double up!

bigdoggy’s next big hand came up against a young lady. Yesterday’s readers would have already heard of, Haley from Hawthorne. The rather attractive Haley [ed note - Shane did not get a date] has spent plenty of time at the felt with our players and after the next hand she probably wishes she didn’t. She got the last of her chips in with 88 and after tanking for a few minutes bigdoggy called her down with AK. The AK hit and unfortunately I’d be seeing no more of Haley this week and she was sent to the rail with her partner. A few at the table were quite upset with what they thought was a slowroll from doggy. Being the slight underdog in the hand he assures me he wasn’t all that comfortable risking what was almost all his chips in a race. But as we have seen before, this is one doggy that always seems to catch the rabbit. (Yes more greyhound references!)

Bigdoggy’s luck couldn’t last all day and he was eventually our next loss for the day. On a 524 flop he fired his last 35k into the middle getting called down by pocket 3′s. With AT in hand doggy was well behind and clearly a front runner he never caught up and was sent to the rail.

While watching bigdoggy’s table I caught what had to be the hand of the day. A short stack pushed all-in for his last 40k or so in chips and was called down by one of the biggest stacks at the table. Immediately to the left of that stack was another big stack who came all-in over the top. These two older gentlemen had spent most of the day side by side and the original caller clearly had a great read laying down his hand, showing the table his pocket kings as he did so. The bigger all-in showed pocket aces and the folder was quickly patting himself on the back for an amazing lay down. The short stack showed AT and was clearly dominated no matter who he went to the showdown with. This hand was not finished with its twists and turns though as no sooner had the folder started to feel good a king rained down on the flop, with no ace to follow he had in fact folded what would have been a set of kings. Sometimes you just need the extra cahoonas to make the big calls and without them you are left to lament what could have been, this had to be one of those times.

DrextheTexDustin “DrextheTex” Drexel

Drex had been up and down on day 1, and this was how day two was always going to play out. Never shy to mix it up Drex got into plenty of good spots he just needed some cards to fall his way for a good run deep in the tourney. The luck was mixed from the start back to back pocket jacks saw him steal a pot one hand but then lose the showdown on the next. His biggest hand of the day saw him flop a straight against top pair when his 78 caught JT9 on the flop up against Q5. The straight held up and he was soon the chip leader of our remaining qualifiers with over 120k in chips.
That lead evaporated in the blink of an eye though. Still with over 100k in chips looking at an A44JK board Tex came hard over the top and moved all-in. Unfortunately he was called down and his opponents JJ had rivered a straight and were good, sending the big Tex to the rail. Still on Tex he surely wins the photo of the day with the sweet shot of his mirrored sunglasses, now thats a poker face! Continue Reading »

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Using Leverage in No Limit Hold’em
Posted by CarbonPoker on 28th January 2010

cardschipsWhen hearing the term “leverage”, you might think of trying to gain an advantage while buying a car or a house.  However, the concept of leverage can also be applied to poker since it will gain you a big advantage over opponents.  But in order to gain this advantage, you must first understand what leverage is in regards to poker.

What is Leverage in Poker?

As mentioned before, leverage provides a means for you to get ahead of someone else in some capacity.  As far as poker goes, leverage begins with having a big stack to back up your moves at the table.  For instance, if you have a big stack and bet into a small pot, you’re more likely to make the smaller stacks fold simply because of the big bets they could face on later streets.

Putting Them All-In

Obviously, having the ability to force others to put more money into the pot on later streets is a huge advantage.  To illustrate this advantage, take a look at the following example:

Let’s say you make a $12 call on the flop; when the turn comes around, you will probably be looking at an even bigger bet such as $35 since the pot has grown.  Now this won’t be such a predicament for you assuming you’re the big stack.  However, shorter stacks have to fear even placing bets on the flop with drawing hands since they may be forced to go all-in later.  By the time the river rolls around, the short stacks might have to call an $80 or $90 raise just to stay in the hand with you!

By having the biggest stack, you have the most leverage at the table, and can do what you want.  If you can accumulate this big stack, make sure to use your advantage to exploit the other players at the table.

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Playing Limit Hold’em Tournaments
Posted by CarbonPoker on 26th January 2010

While most people prefer to play the more popular No-Limit Hold’em tournaments, Limit tourneys still draw a fair share of players.  In fact, some people actually like playing Limit Hold’em tournaments since they force them to play more under control.  If you’re a Limit Hold’em buff, or have just considered playing in a Limit tourney, these tips should help your game.

The Basics

Basic Limit Hold’em tournament strategy involves playing in position during the early going and sticking to premium, or near-premium, hands.  Since it’s tougher to come from behind in a Limit tourney, you need to keep a decent chip stack at all times.  This means avoiding playing hands like A-Q, K-J, and Q-T out of position since they can cost you a lot of chips.

Steal Blinds and Small Pots

Once the blinds start going up towards the middle stages of the tournament, you’re going to have to steal blinds and small pots to stay in the action.  This means betting out more and trying to semi-bluff other players into folding so you can steal whatever is on the table.  Of course, you need to take into account the players you’re stealing blinds from before you make the attempt.  If they’re a tight player who only plays premium hands, then you’re no doubt better off leaving them alone.

Much like No-Limit

Sure Limit Hold’em tournaments are different from their No-Limit counterpart, but this doesn’t mean you should treat a Limit Hold’em tourney like it’s totally different.  In fact, you can apply a lot of the same concepts from No-Limit towards Limit Hold’em.  This means you still need to know what hands to play and which ones to fold, look for opportunities to bluff, and make strong value bets.  The only difference is going to be that you can’t take a whole player’s stack in one hand.

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Day 2 of the Aussie Millions Main Event – More Elliot Smith
Posted by CarbonPoker on 26th January 2010

aussie-millions-logoCarbonPoker correspondant, Shane, is back with another update from Down Under.

Day 2 of the Aussie Millions saw again only one Carbon Poker runner. This was a relief some 13 hours later as our one entrant for the day kept me busier than one player really should!

Elliot “ilikebiggirls” Smith showed quite early he was going to play a lot of pots, and getting called down or losing pots was not going to change his strategy. He came into the day very well fed and focused and it showed as he negotiated early proceedings including one of the most bizarre live hands I have ever seen.

Elliot and his opponent went to the river both feeling pretty good about their hands, but the board was somewhat trouble some. After a QQ5 flop the turn brought another queen and the river another 5. Both players now had a full house and most on the rail assumed it was the same full house, queens over fives, how wrong they all were. Elliot’s opponent flipped up pocket tens making queens over tens, Elliot’s look of confusion had me thinking he was beat and was playing the boards queens over five full house. I too was wrong as Elliot flipped pocket tens, both players indeed had the same full house, queens over 10′s. I’ve never seen symmetry at the poker table like that before, and I doubt I ever will again!

As the day wore on an older gentleman an the table quickly became Elliot’s nemesis, he seemed to have Elliot covered at every turn. Elliot’s pocket jacks were called down by granddads Q4, which of course flopped a queen to make the higher pair. No matter how these hands played out though Elliot stayed true to his plan, kept his foot down and for every pot that was shipped away from him, there was one coming back.

Late in the afternoon Elliot’s table was broken and he was moved to a new table, there was a change in scenery but no change in his style of play. Down went the sunglasses, in went the chips. As afternoon became night it was more of the same and Elliot’s chip stack started to stand out as being one of the bigger stacks in the room. Often if he let one hand go and a decent amount of chips with it, he would fire aggressively at the very next pot quickly recouping any losses.

As time passed there were only three decent sized stacks left at the table, Elliot took this as his cue to do his best Sammy Faha impression, ‘raisey daisy’! Elliot was raising almost every pot, stealing blinds left right and centre.  He finally ran into a reraise in hand that was to become a serious battle on Elliot’s table. Facing each other from opposite ends of the table was Elliot and one of the young guns of poker Dani Stern. Stern started the day with the the larger stack, but Elliot started to put a dint in that stack and as the hours dragged on both players grew more and more determined to take the other down. With Dani reraising Elliot there was finally some resistance at the table. First Elliot called for a count of Dani’s stack, then Dani called time on Elliot. Elliot stayed in the tank for a few minutes still, by now even I was sweating in the rail… however it all came to an anti-climax as Elliot laid his hand down.

To get back into the groove Elliot reraised the very next hand which once again went uncalled. Elliot rode plenty of hands like this through the evening and by the time the final level of the evening rolled around Elliot  built such a formidable stack that he was in fact the chip leader.

The next massive hand was again with Dani Stern. Preflop Elliot raised to 2500, Dani raised to 5k and Elliot quickly bumped it again throwing another 10k in the middle. Dani wasn’t going away though and he pushed all-in put his tournament life on the line as he was well covered by Elliot. Elliot went into the tank but eventually laid down his hand. Dani gleefully showed his hand J-7 of diamonds, quite happy with himself and the move he had just made.

Elliot really had dominated his table and his more well known opponent all night, this was made especially clear by the opposite end of the table scheming together to try to find a way to take him down. They of course weren’t successful and at the close of day 1 flight 2 Elliot ‘ilikebiggirls’ had 98,100 in chips and was entrenched at the top of the leaderboard.

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